A protest being carried out by women in Iran has recently attracted some attention from the internet.

New York Times columnist and feminist author Mona Eltahawy tweeted that six women were arrested on Monday for removing their hijabs in public and waving them around on a stick.

On Monday, a total of 6 women made the same symbolic gesture: taking off their head scarves in public & waving them on a stick,emulating a young woman who climbed on the same sort of utility box on Dec.27 & was subsequently arrested.Activists say she has since been released #Iran

The recent protests were inspired after a woman was arrested for doing the same thing on top of a utility box in December. She was later identified as Vida Movahed, 31. She has since inspired a hashtag that translates to “the girl of Enghelab Street,” referencing the name of the street where she was arrested. Several Iranians, men and women, have changed their social media to reflect support for her protest.

According to Eltahawy, one of the arrested women explained her motivation for joining the protests.

“I took my scarf off because I’m tired of our government telling me what to do with my body,” she said.

“I took my scarf off because I’m tired of our government telling me what to do with my body,” 28yo woman protestor. At least one of the 6 women protesting Monday was arrested by police, a shopkeeper who witnessed the arrest said. #Iran

Interesting fact: The first woman protesting, -then anonymous- did it on “revolution” street. And she quickly got the title of “girl of the revolution street” this soon turned into the hashtag #دختران_انقلاب “girls of revolution” after others joined her.#دختران_خیابان_انقلاب

This is not the first time Iranian women have pushed back on the mandatory rules. The Guardian reported in July that an increasing number of women stopped wearing their hijabs while in cars as it is not immediately clear whether or not the inside of a vehicle counts as a “public space.” Despite this, police have made an effort to pull women without headscarves over, fine them or, in some cases, seize their vehicles.

“The police can’t do something and say I’m doing this because God said so. That’s not a police [officer]’s business,” argued Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who has been described as a moderate, in 2015.

Despite this and similar beliefs held by many citizens, the judicial wing of the country pushed back. Hadi Sadeghi, the deputy head of Iran’s judiciary chief, said in 2017, “The invisible part of the car, such as the trunk, is a private space, but this does not apply to the visible parts of the car.”

As the protests continue, several on the internet sought to explain the impact of such actions to those who might be unfamiliar.

“Forced hijab is the most visible symbol of oppression against women in Iran, that’s why fighting for freedom to wear or not to wear hijab is the first step towards full equality”https://t.co/yPx1SsEJXVHistory will honour these remarkably brave women as it honours Rosa Parks.

At least one advocate expressed concerns about the way the protests could be taken advantage of by those outside of the culture trying to push separate agendas.

Some thoughts from an Iranian woman in Iran who is an advocate of women’s rights in Iran, on those photos:“This isn't a very new issue. We’ve seen women, when they’re in certain corners of the city or in the provinces where they are out of the public gaze, remove their hejab.”

She continued: "These issues are attractive to foreign media. My concern is these incidents are poorly understood and incorrectly interpreted and certain groups want to co-opt them in their own name, or put their own name on it and use it to further some other issue or cause.”

Finally: “I’m cynical about outside interferences in the issue of hejab in Iran. These incidents are a domestic issue being pursued by women in Iran and part of something quite natural, it's about making and expressing a demand.”